Project: Initiative
by Lucinda
Summary: Willow's research into the history of the Initative reveals some surprising and unpleasant things.


Fic: Project: Initiative   
  
  
Author: Lucinda  
Rating: Pg 13  
mentions Willow/Oz, no current Willow pairing  
Disclaimer: I do not own anyone from Buffy the Vampire Slayer  
Distribution: Charity's site, others please ask  
Set beginning in season 4, will diverge into AU shortly.  
  
  
Willow was laying on her bed in the dorm room she shared with   
Buffy. She was feeling miserable. Oz was gone. Oz had slept with that   
Veruca skank. He had slept with Veruca and tried to hide it from her. He   
had turned into a wolf and killed Veruca. He had left Sunnydale and her   
rather than talk about what had happened. She was alone. The one person   
that had sen her as desirable was gone.....  
  
There was a knock at the door.  
  
"Come in." Her voice was dull, thick with the pain and misery   
she was feeling. Willow didn't even think about the dangers of caling out an   
invitation on the Hellmouth. She sat up, and began to approach the   
door.  
  
Spike burts through the door, immediately shutting it behind   
him. He stalked towards Willow, his face ridges, eyes feral and hungry. A   
threatening growl emanated from him as he approached the redhead.  
  
He couldn't bite her.  
  
Oh, he tried. He threw her on the bed, and lunged for her   
throat. It didn't work. Something caused him the most agonizing pain he'd ever   
experienced. Spike tried two more times to rip her throat open, but   
had the same results.  
  
Willow was certain that this was another sign of her complete   
undesirability. The bloodthirst vampire couldn't bite her. She   
wasn't even good enough to eat. To Willow's surprise, Spike tried to assure her   
that it wsn't her fault. He even remembered the outfit she had been wearing   
a year ago when he had locked her and Xander in an abandoned factory while   
in a drunken haze. Willow was oddly flattered.  
  
Then the power went out, and masked figures with guns knocked   
down her door. Willow shreiked in panic tinged with a bit of anoyance. How   
many people were going tobarge into her room tonight anyhow?  
  
When the smoke finally cleared, Spike was gone.  
  
  
  
Willow didn't see Spike the next day. Buffy was there, and had   
found the commandos breaking into their room. She had helped to chase them   
off, but hadn't gotten a good look at the other person, the one that had run   
away. Then, Buffy had told Willow that Parker had dumped her as soon as   
they had slept together. He had used his handsome face and a pretense of   
sympathy to lure her into his bed, and she had fallen for it.  
  
Buffy was miserable, bemoaning her loneliness that had made her   
voulnerable to Parker's come-ons. She railed against Angel's   
departure, which had made her alone to begin with. She had colorful but   
unpleasent things to say about the gypsies that had designed Angel's curse and   
included that happiness clause. Buffy was trying to find the reason why   
there were no good men in Sunnydale.  
  
Willow's only comment had been "They either die young or run   
away." Buffy had agreed, to focused on her own pain to notice Willow's pain   
and misery.  
  
Everyone was to busy to realize the depths of Willow's pain.   
Thanksgiving was almost here. The gang was going to have a turkey   
dinner at Giles' apartment. They had decided this because Buffy's only family   
was her mother, Joyce, who would be joining them. Xander had said he would   
rather lock himself in a room and watch six hours of teletubbies than   
attend another Harris family Thanksgiving brawl. Anya had no family,   
having been a vengence demon for over a thousand years. Willow's parents were in   
Dallas. Or possibly Houston. Willow wasn't quite certain where her parents   
were, or how long they would be there.  
  
She was sitting in a chair, leafing through a book of demons   
that included pictures when there was a commotion at the door. She marked   
her spot - right at the Ik'Tarin demon, a large creature with tentacles   
and jaws like a crocadile. Whatever was causing this commotion...was   
swearing with a British accent. Spike?  
  
It was Spike, wrapped in a smoking blanket, and looking rather   
unhealthy. He had been pale before, but now his skin loked unhealthy pale. His   
eyes had dark circles under them, and his cheekbones were even more   
prominent. He was swaying slightly as he stood.  
  
"I want you to fix whatever your blody commando pals did to me!   
How in the bloody hell is a vampire supposed to go aout his unlife with   
whatever the hell they did to me! I want my life back, you daft bloody slayer!"   
He sounded hostile, and posibly a bit afraid underneath.  
  
Giles and Buffy didn't trust Spike. He ended up in the chair   
that Willow had been sitting in, tied up like a turkey. He was still   
cranky, but was starting to consider the possibility that maybe the slayer   
really had no idea what he was talking about. He had explained to them that   
something had been done that made him unable to feed. nobody had wanted to   
believe him, until Willow mentioned the dorm room.  
  
The focus had shifted to everyone yelling at her about how   
foolish she had been to invite someone intoher room without knowing who it was.   
How could she do that...didn't she realize the danger she had put   
herself and the Slayer in with her unthinking words? Wilow had cringed at the   
explosion of critisism. Sh emeekly replied that she hadn't been   
thinking, she was very sorry, and since Spike seemed to be unable to bite   
anyone, Buffy wasn't really in any danger. She then made it very clear that   
she had not invited the commandos into her room.  
  
The debate about what to do with Spike had continued until the   
small gathering was attacked by indians. Giles and Buffy had gone forth   
to deal with the source, while Xander was laying on the couch, somehow   
instantly stricken with syphilis. Anya was tending him. Willow and Spike had   
been ignored in the assignment of tasks. Spike was still tied to the   
chair. A few arrows were embedded in his torso, thankfully missing the   
heart. He was now muttering threats about what he intended to do to them when he   
got his bit back and questioning if he would be able to feed from Xander's   
corpse if he died from his sudden illness.  
  
"Spike? I don't have anything to do right now, maybe you could   
tell me what happened to you? Maybe I could help figure out how they   
did...whatever. If they are local, they might have a computer   
system I can access." Willow's quiet words disracted Spike from his ranting   
threats.  
  
"When I get my bite back, you realize that I intend to kill you   
and the rest of the slayer's little friends, right? I am not my soddin'   
ponce of a Sire, all nice and helping the slayer." Spike's words were   
whispered, as is he were trying to keep anyone from hearing hte possibility Willow   
had hinted at.  
  
If she found out what they had done to him, he could find someone   
to undo it. He could have his bite back, and get bloody revenge on everyone.  
  
Willow was carefully removing the arrows from his body when she   
answered. "I realize that you aren't our friend. I will offer you   
this deal, since I know about the one you made with Buffy about   
Acathala. You will tell me everything you can about what happened. I will try to   
figure out who these commandos are, and what they did to you. In return,   
when you come after me to kill me like all the others, I want you to make it   
quick. And make certain that someone will find my body, I don't want to be   
left rotting somewhere and need my corpse identified by dental records."  
  
Willow's reply chilled Spike to the marrow of his undead   
bones. Not because she assumed he would kill her, he had known that she was the   
smart one of the group. It was the calm way that she had mentioned it, as   
if her death held no importance, no dread for her. The way she spoke of   
not wanting her corpse left to rot as if she had given the matter a   
great deal of thought. She didn't care if she died right now. She was willing   
to help him because it would give her something to contemplate other than   
whatever was going on inside her head that had lead her to calmly bargining   
over the manner of her death.  
  
Spike began to tell her what he remembered. He also made a   
promise to himself - he wanted to know what had brought her to this state of   
empty pain. Her unconcern was baffling, he wanted to understand. Why hadn't   
her friends done something about it, anyhow?  
  
end part 2   
  
  
  
  
The next two weeks witnessed things settle into a slightly awkward  
routine. Spike was staying at Giles' apartment. They had started by  
keeping him chained up and lying in the bathtub. He was being fed, although  
he kept insisting that cold pig's blood from the butcher shop was not even  
close to the same thing as fresh human blood, right from the throat. For the  
most part, his complaints sell on unconcerned ears.  
  
Spike learned about how Willow's boyfriend oz had been a  
werewolf. He had cheated on her with a she wolf from another band. Theother wolf  
had tried to kill Willow, Oz-Wolf had killed the she wolf, and Oz had  
been shot with the tranquiizer before he could maul Willow. Oz had been gone  
the next day, having left town. He had sent for his things. It had  
explained to Spike why Willow had been an abject picture of heartbroken  
desolation in her dorm room that night. That had been the day she learned his things  
were gon. That he wasn't coming back to this place, to her. Reflecting  
back to his own reactions to the many times that Drucilla had left him,  
Spike had been forced to admit to himself that he understood how she had  
felt. Completely abandoned and alone. It had never sent him into a  
suicidal depression before.  
  
Willow was either feling suicidal, or had moved past that to a  
place where she felt her life or death truely didn't matter. Spike wasn't  
quite certain which it was. It bothered him. He had spent a lot of time  
talking to the shy redhead over the past two weeks. She had persuaded the  
Watcher to let him out of the bathtub, and eventually out of the chains as  
well. The chains had been a gradual process, and the watcher still snapped  
a pair of handcuffs on him when he was annoyed. Spike had decided that it  
really wouldn't be safe to tell him that with his vampire stregnth, he  
could easily snap the handcuffs. The whole reasoning behind his freedom from the  
tub and chains was to make it easier for Willow to try to determine what had  
been done to him.  
  
Willow had listened to Spike, and to Buffy's reports about her  
nightly patrols. They had pieced together some of the story. The commandos  
were called the Initiative, and were only part of some sort of secret  
military project hidden inside or near Sunnydale. There was a basse that the  
patroling commandos reported to, and Spike had remembered seeing  
many scientists in a very well equipped lab facility. He didn't recall  
seeing any windows, and has escaped through a long, sloping tunnel.  
Because of that, they were suspecting some sort of at least partially  
underground facility.  
  
So far, they hadn't found the actual location of any installatin of  
that magnitude. The military base that Xander and Cordelia had  
stolen the rocket launcher used to destroy the Judge was to far away to be the  
location of the initiative. Willow had found no documentation of  
any facility that fit the requirements they were looking for in her  
perusal of the Sunnydal City records. Spike had actually been impressed by  
Willow's researching on the computer. He had known damn well that hacking  
like that was illegal, and hadn't know the redhead had it in her to just  
calmly ignore laws like that. She was starting to grow on him.  
  
" I think I found them. Not a location or adress or something  
physical like that, but I think I found their computer systems. If  
I'm right, I can just slip right in and see what they've got in their  
computers. They have to have files on what they did and how they did it in  
there somewhere." Willow's gleeful voice sounded alive again. She was  
almost giddy from solving the difficult problem.  
  
Spike was interested in her discovery. Of course the big, bad  
commandos had computers. Trend of the recent decades to have computers. Red  
had found their's and she'd get their secrets in a trice.... what in the  
world was on her screen now?  
  
"hmm... They have protections against people just slipping in.  
Makes sense I suppose, but it will slow me down slightly. Spike, you do  
realize that I have no idea what sort of organization they will have for  
their files? I doubt they will have one called 'What we did to Spike'  
followed with 'how to fix it in three easy steps'. Can you pass me those  
blank CD's over there? I want to copy their files, it will be safer to browse  
them later from my computer than to stay in the Initiative systems."  
Willow's voice was thoughtful, her mind already moving ahead to the next  
steps of the problem.  
  
Her words calmed his immediate delight. He wouldn't have kept  
a file labeled how to fix the bloke I messed with', why would they? The  
fact that they had never even asked what his name was...actually, that had  
really annoyed him. Spike watched as Wilow copied vast amounts of computer  
files onto the disks, labeling them with what looked like file names as  
they finished. The labels didn't reallyhelp Spike have any clue what was  
inside, but they did make it easy to tell the disks apart.  
  
After she had copied everything she could, she exited the  
Initiative systems, and took her computer off the intenet. She had her data,  
now came the part that was tedious researching.  
  
------------------------------  
  
He had ended up playing minion for the watcher. He even had his  
very own key to the apartment now. The watcher had given him a grocery list  
and sent him off to the store while he ran off with his tart. The slayer and  
her pals hadn't even figured out that Red was more than a bit mopey  
about dog-boy leaving. He was really starting to wonder ow they had  
managed to defeat so many evil dangers. They really were pitiful at reading  
people.  
  
When he got back to the apartment, it was quiet. There was only  
the soft hum of appliances, adn a single heartbeat. Red wason the  
computter, looking through those files. Spike put the perishables away into  
the icebox and crept over behind Willow, hoping to startle her. When he looked  
at the screen of her computer, there was a diagram of the human body, with the   
bones highlighted. There were chemical formulae on the sides, and  
complex mathematical equations. An instinct deep inside of Spike told him  
that this was trouble. Other than that, he had no clue what in the hell it  
meant.  
  
"Red?" His voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper.  
  
"I found the history of the Initiative. They trace back to  
another operation called Project X. It did experimentation on humans and  
mutants in the areas of biofeedback, biochemical alteration, and skeletal  
modification. They had a ninety five percent casualty rate with their subjects."  
Willow's voice was quiet, no louder than his had been. She was  
clearly disturbed by her findings. "The Initiative is the new, Hellmouthier  
version of the same idea. They are using demons and vampires to work on  
behavioral control."  
  
"They implanted a microchip into your brain.. I found a placement  
diagram back here a bit. It receives a signal by satellite and prevents you  
from acting aggressively against humans. They used a neurosurgeon to  
install it, Spike. Unless you want the risk of permanant brain damage, it'll  
take a neurosurgeon to remove it."  
  
Willow paused, licking her lips nervously. "If it's any  
consolation, you have one of the first generation chips. It only prevents you from  
feeding or hurting humans. The second generation of behavioral chips is  
listed as currently in testing. Those will let them actually make you do  
things that they want you to do."  
  
end part 3 Project: Initiative  
  
  
  
  
  
Spike was very thoughtful as Willow spent the next few days   
searching the initiative files over the next few days. The watcher had   
implied that they would help find a solution to Spike's problem. The only person   
that had even tried to find time to look had been Willow. The slayer's   
suggested solution was to stake Spike.  
  
Frustratingly, Spike was getting a feeling of a greater moral   
good. It wasn't just his problem anymore, it was something bigger. He hated   
these moments of moral responsibility - the last one had led to his making   
a deal with the slayer to prevent the demon Acathala from sucking the world   
into hell. He was getting a sinking feeling that this would lead him to   
more complications.  
  
He couldn't just ignore the fact that the Initiative was   
experimenting on demons and vampires. Even if Willow found a spell that would let   
her just conjure the chip out of his head, the Initiative would still be   
there. They would have to be actively stopped. He had looked at the files   
Red had copied. They were commiting horrible tortures in the name of   
Science. Hell, they had records of doing things that had turned Spike's stomach,   
and he had once been infamous for torturing people with railroad spikes. It   
was clear that the Initative had to be stopped.  
  
He just didn't have a clue who would help him do it.  
  
Spike had tried to talk to the Watcher about the Initiative.   
Rupert Giles hadn't seen why Spike was so concerned with the Initiative.   
He didn't see the danger in a group that was capturing demons and vampires.   
Spike hadn't been able to communicate the depths of torment the   
researchers were inflicting on theri captives. He hadn't even got through to him   
when he tried to reason that the initiative would eventually move on to   
humans. His talk with the Slayer had gone worse. She had laughed derisively,   
and said that if they were getting demons off her streets, she didn't care   
what they did with them.  
  
Spike sat in the cair in front of the tellevision. He needed to   
distract himself. What to watch.. There were several soap operas to   
choose from, with tales of passion, manipulation, and settings of luxury   
and wealth. There was MTV with new music and half clad women writhing   
around. Or, he could watch the History channel, maybe catch something about   
a bloody, violent war.  
  
Spike ws pulled from his thoughts of quality televisin   
programming by an odd noise from Willow. It was part squeak, part gasp, and part   
dismay. That was an odd noise. Perhaps he should see what she found that   
would cause that sort of reaction.  
  
"There are survivors, Spike. Afte the Weapon X Project was shut   
down, they tried to make the evidence disappear. Only, the evidence   
included the survivors of their nasty super soldier project. There were two that   
they didn't manage to kill." She did something with her computer, and the   
screen was filled by two pictures. On the left was a large seeming man with   
oddly dark eyes and a wild mane of blondish hair. Letters under his   
picture read Codename Sabertooth; Creed, Victor. On the right was a different   
man, with shorter dark hair and blue eyes. He would blend in with a crowd in   
most places in America, and many in Europe. His caption read Codename   
Wolverine: Logan, John.  
  
Spike was thoughtful. He had the nagging feeling that he had   
seen the man on the right before, somewhere. He was trying to place the man   
when he sat down for the evening news. He might as well catch the sports   
scores while he thought about it. There was a segment on the 'Mutant   
Menace' that included Live coverage of a group of Mutants in New York fighting a   
large purple robot....  
  
"Red!" Spike bellowed at Willow, having thought something about   
one of the mutants looked familiar. She darted into the room, and saw the   
segment he was watching.  
  
"That's Wolverine. I was just looking at the file on him...."   
They sat in silence through the rest of the segment, many thoughts flickering   
in their minds.  
  
"Spike? I know we'd figured that you'd kill me after I found the   
reason that you couldn't bite, but... I think this is important. I think   
we have to get rid of the Initiative first. What they are doin isn't   
right. It's wrong on so many levels... If it isn't stopped, it's going to get   
bigger and uglier." Willow's voice was soft, her words following some of   
Spike's thoughts.  
  
"Nobody here sees it that way, Red. The watcher just sees that   
they are working on demons and lets it go at that. They aren't human, so it   
isn't his problem. The slayer only cares that every demon or vampire they   
catch is one she doesn't have to worry about. I sure as hell want the   
Initiative to go down, permanently. But we can't do it alone. Where are we   
going to get the reinforcements to pull this off?" Spike was hoping that   
Willow had a plan. He didn't have one. Hell, even an idea would be more than   
he had.  
  
"well, that was Wolverine in New York. I think if he knew there   
was another program like the one that put him through months of   
excruciating agony, he would want to shut them down. He wasn't on the camera   
alone either, he had people with him in the same uniform. They might   
help. If anyone knows where Sabertooth is, I think he might want to help   
also." Willow's voice was determined, with a hard tone behind it that he   
had never heard before.  
  
"If it comes down to it, I'll take down the defenses and we'll   
break Magneto out of prison to help take thisplace down. I can garantee   
that he won't let a place like this stay in operation."  
  
Spike stared at her, astonished. He had known she paid   
attention to the news, so he wasn't surprised that she had placed Magneto in the   
category of heavy firepower. He wondered if she could actually break him out of   
the prison he was residing in... but foremost he was puzzled. "Red? Why   
would Magneto not stand for the Initiative?"  
  
"Because he's Jewish." She glanced up at SPike, seing his   
continued puzzlement. "Spike, Magneto is Erik Lenscherr, a Jew from Poland.   
He was sent to a concentration camp by the Nazis. That was publicized in   
his trial." Spike still hadn't made the connection.  
  
"Nobody that went though that sort of hell would ever let   
something like it happen again. Neither would anyone that lost someone to the   
Holocaust. The idea that it's okay to do horrible things to dmons because they   
aren't the same as you will only lead to the idea that it's okay to do   
horrible things to people that are a bit different, with a different   
religeon, or ethnic heritage. People would stand back and let it happen because   
it wasn't them, until it was them, and by then there wouldn't be anyone   
to stop things. I won't stand back and let another Holocaust begin."  
  
Willow's explanation suddenly made sense to Spike. He also   
found himself seeing the matter from that perspective, and her words made   
a dark and terrible sort of sense. People would stand back and let things   
happen as long as it didn't interfere with their lives. Spike also suddenly   
found himself remembering that Willow was also Jewish by heritage.  
  
There was another Holocaust brewing, and the forces against it   
were a chipped vampire, and a Jewish hacker that had dabbled in magic. God   
help them.  
  
end part 4.  
  
  
  
  
Willow's life had gradually reshaped itself over the past few   
weeks. She had barely noticed that her friends were spending as little time   
with her as they possibly could. They hadn't been there much since Oz   
had left. Xander was to busy with his new job as a constructionworker and   
with Anya. Buffy...Buffy thought that Willow should be over Oz leaving by now,   
since it had been a few weeks since he had left. The fact that Buffy still   
got all depressed and miserable because Angel had left Sunnydale and Buffy   
nearly six months earlier didn't lend any stregnth to her arguement.  
  
Why did Buffy still get to be miserable that Angel had left   
her? They had had serious problems, everyone except maybe Buffy had seen   
that. Angel had left because if he had stayed, he could wind up loosing his soul   
over Buffy. Again. He hadn't cheated on her, he hadn't just vanished.   
That was Oz, and somehow, she was supposed to magically be over him now.  
  
She had tried to convince Buffy, or Xander, or Giles to   
understand her reasoning that the Initiative wasn't all good. Buffy had told her   
that she was just worrying about his so she wouldn't be moping about Oz.   
Xander had explained in very short words and the tone of somone explaining to a   
small child that demons were bad. Making them go away was good. End of   
story, that's all there is to it. Giles thought that she was over-  
reacting.  
  
"There isn't a single person in this whole damn town willing to   
help us stop this!"  
  
Willow's angry declaration rang through the apartment. The   
only person to hear her was Spike. He was a bit surprised. Red wasn't known   
for swearing or shouting. He sauntered over, standing outside of her   
reach.  
  
" I already figured that one out, Red. No one here in Sunnyhell   
cares. Hope you have a plan B. Or a neurosurgeon. With a surgeon, I could   
get this chip out, and then I'd make them care...." Spike was curious.   
He had already known nobody else would help. Planning anything more   
complex than 'We go in, kill them all. Go home and party' was something he   
hadn't been practicing lately.  
  
"You still have that car? If nobody will help us here, I say we   
go to New York. Once there, we find Wolverine, and explain to him and his   
friends what we found. Then, we either get more reinforcements, or have   
enough firepower to destroy the Initiative completely." Willow's answer   
was steady, with a firm plan. She was also mentioning destruction and   
that was normally a plus in most vampire's opinions.  
  
"Sounds good to me, Red. Pack a few things, we can be out of   
this town tonight." Spike was grinning, looking forward to taking down the   
commandos. The fact that he'd have to cooperate with mortals again to get it   
done was something he could deal with.  
  
They were out of Sunnydale by ten. Willow had packed some   
clothing, and her laptop, along with all the files she had copied from the   
Initiatve. Spike didn't have much to pack. He ran over the 'Welcome to   
Sunnydale' sign on the way out. For tradition.  
  
* * * * *  
  
The trip across the country had been interesting. They had   
learned more about each other, and had actually achieved a tenative balance that   
could almost be called friendship. Now, they were finally in New York.   
Unfortunately, he had no idea where to find this Logan character.   
Turning to ask Willow if she had any ideas, he saw that she had pulled out   
the picture she had printed out of his face. He was about to tease her   
that now wasn't the time to be getting a new crush when she started to chant   
someting that sounded Latin.  
  
A small green light, about the size of an eyeball appeared in   
front of her. It then move ahead, passing through the frint window.   
Spike wasn't sure what to think.  
  
"Follow the light. It's a locator spell, and it should lead us   
to Wolverine." Willow gestured at the floating light as she spoke.   
The casual display of magic had surprised him. Dru had dabbled a bit with   
magic, but had always made a fuss over it, talking to the stars and saying she   
heard whispers from the moon. Something like this would have left Dru a   
bit lightheaded, and tired. Willow looked as if it had been nothing.  
  
The pair of them ended up at the locked gates of an impressive   
mansion, with manicured grounds with flowers and hedges. There was a   
basketball court to the right. Spike was contemplating how to break the chain   
on the gates when Willow whispered a few more words in Latin.  
  
The padlock opened itself, and the chain slithered around the   
bars like a snake, leaving the gate unlocked. She then pushed open the gate   
and smiled at Spike. They drove up to the mansion.  
  
  
end part 5.  
  
  
Scott Summers was running a basic check of the security  
systems when one screen, showing the school gate, had a dreadful looking black  
car pull up. The car was old, and the paint was scratched. A woman got out  
of the passenger side and seemed to look at the gate, before just pushing  
it open. He didn't see what had happened to the chain. This was not normal,  
even for here, so Cyclops contacted the Professor to inform him what was  
happening.  
  
When the red haired young woman and the bleach blond man arrived  
at the porch, the X-Men were there waiting. Scott opened the door, looking  
at the pair of them.  
  
"Why don't the two of you come in and explain why you are here."  
The Professor's voice carried well.  
  
The pair entered the mansion, glancing around them a bit as they  
did. Willow moved slowly, almost staring at the surroundings. Spike  
sauntered in, looking more with an eye for exits and possible weapons than  
admiring the decor.  
  
" I'm Willow and this is Spike. umm We came here searching for  
John Logan, also called Wolverine. We have a problem that we wanted your  
help with." The redhead spoke, her words setting off a reaction among  
the X-Men.  
  
"How did you get through the gates?" The man with the visor  
demanded.  
  
"What sort of problem do you have, and how big is it?" The red  
haired woman, trying to get a sense of how sincere the strange pair was.  
  
"How the hell do you know who I am, and how did you find me?"  
Logan's demand cut right to the point of his concerns.  
  
"What'd you want us to do for you anyhow?" Marie wasn't  
supposed to be there, but she was anyhow.  
  
As the questions were tossed out rapidly by all the X-Men at  
once, the redhead drew slightly closer to the blond man. They hadn't answered  
anything, but they had scarcely had time.  
  
"Enough. I'm certain that Willow will answer our questions, but  
she must have the time to do so. Let us all go to the dining room and  
discuss this." Xavier's voice carried, and rang with an odd weight.  
Everyone quieted, and the whole group went to the dining room, Spike and  
Willow trailing a bit behind the others.  
  
"I came here to ask for your help in getting rid of the  
Initiative. Before you ask, it's a secret government project experimenting with  
mind control and behavioral modification chips. I hacked into it's files  
to get information on it after they experimented on Spike. The Initiative  
traces back to a program called Project X or Weapon X. There were some  
files from that, and they listed you, John Logan, codename Wolverine." Willow  
looked directly at Logan with her last words. She also passed him the  
printout of the picture she had used earlier.  
  
There were gasps and expressions of dismay all around at  
Willow's words. The implications were ominous, and troublesome.  
  
"What sort of experiment did they do to you?" Marie's soft  
question was directed at Spike, whom she had somehow ended up siting across from.  
  
"Why come here for help? Why not someone closer to home?" Scott  
was curious, slightly suspicious.  
  
Spike was grinning at Marie, and reached across the table,  
catching her hand in his. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand,  
apparently unaware of the shocked glances from all the X-men as he did so. He  
seemed to be trying to flirt with her.  
  
Willow glanced as Spike and sighed. That wasn't any help to  
her. "We tried to get the people closer to home to help us. They refused  
because they didn't see why we were so concerned. Unlike the Weapon  
Project, they aren't making soldiers disappear, and they aren't making ordinary  
people vanish. They are experimenting on individuals that won't be missed,  
that nobody cares about enough to worry. I think that if they aren't  
stopped, the project will grow. If nothing stops them, they will be  
everywhere, and people won't be able to stop them. Everyone will probably end up  
with chips in their heads to make them think it's all okay." She was clearly  
upset by the end of this explanation. Her audience was pretty upset as well.  
  
"What do you mean, they weren't concerned?" Logan was clearly furious.  
  
"They are just abducting people and nobody is concerned?" A  
dark skinned woman with striking white hair and a hint of an odd accent.  
She looked worried, and a bit nervous.  
  
"Experimentation on mutants?" Xavier was unhappy, and troubled.  
  
Spike looked up at the gathered individuals. "Thing is that  
there's a bit of an arguement about the 'personhood' of the individual's  
they're grabbing. I don't know if they got any mutants, but they have been  
grabbing vampires and demons."  
  
Willow and Spike had expected the expressions of disbelief and  
denial from everyone. Logan had only frowned thoughtfully, and sniffed the  
air. Everyone else was going on interrupting each other, voices  
overlapping, insisting that there was no such thing as vampires.  
  
"Bloody hell, do you people have to see everything before you  
believe? Then take a look at this!" Spike bellowed at the group, his features  
shifting to his golden eyed vampire face.  
  
Silence fell. Everyone was hushed, staring at the blond before  
them. They were trying to figure how he had done that. Jean attempted to  
probe his mind, and could barely locate his presence, and the sense that  
she got was of age and danger.  
  
"Is that why you could touch me? Because you aren't really alive?"  
Marie was the first to speak, her words directed at Spike.  
  
"He smells off from a normal person. He hasn't got a pulse  
either." Logan was looking thoughtful. Something was teasing at him, the  
shadow of a memory. "I believe them."  
  
"If he is a vampire, which I still have some doubts about, "  
Jean was speaking now, " why is he working with Willow? What benefit is there  
for you? How can we know that you aren't a danger to our students?"  
  
Spike sat down on the chair again, his arms folded over his  
chest and scowled. "I got a damn chip in my head."  
  
Willow looked at the attentive group, and decided to elaborate a  
bit. "Spike was implanted with a chip that prevents him from committing  
any violence against humans. I promised to try to help him get rid of  
the Initiative. I have their files, up to about a week ago." Willow  
hefted the case with her copied files.  
  
It was eventually decided that they would help Spike and  
Willow. Jean talked Spike into letting her run a few simple tests on him in the  
lab, which he only agreed to do if Willow was present. After that, Spike  
and Willow both went to guest rooms to sleep.  
  
end part 6.  
  
  
They had spent the next afternoon explaining about demons and   
vampires to the X-men. It hadn't been particularly easy, and most of the   
team was reluctant to believe, even after Jean's tests. Spike had   
demonstrated his stregnth, he had changed his face multiple times. Finally, he had   
growled at them, saying he didn't care if they believed in demons or not if   
they would help them get rid of the Initiative.  
  
That had led to several hours of Wilow explaining why and how   
she had got the files, in detail. She had used the large screen in the war-  
room to put up some of the pictures included. The detailed, though   
somewhat parrtial files on the Weapon X program had matched the information   
they had already found, and then, once she had theri attention, Willow had   
pulled the heavy ammunition out. She had put up the files on some of the more   
brutal testing done at the Initiative, complete with the film footage on   
file showing the reactions to certain types of physical trauma.  
  
"This is what we want you to help us stop. You say you want to   
help make a world where a few differences in someones DNA doesn't count   
against them. Why should some major differences in someones DNA and   
physiology mean that they aren't worth resueing? Not all demons are safe and   
peaceful, some are outright dangerous. But this isn't right."  
  
It may have taken some ruthless arguement, but Willow had   
finally convinced the X-Men to help her and Spike take down the Initiative.   
She was still working on convincing Jean that Spike's chip had to go. They   
had started discussing plans on how to find the acutal base afterwards,   
and with the setting sun had actually meandered out of the mansion. Willow,   
the Professor, Jean, Scott, and Logan were involved in the debate.  
  
They were discussing the possiblity of gatting satelite imagry   
of the Sunnydale area to determine the most likely location of an   
underground complex when they were interrupted. Sabertooth ponced right at   
Logan, knocking Jean down with Logan's body. Scott was trying to blast   
another person who kept making the most astounding leaps. The assault had   
completely interrupted Willow's efforts to get planning done, and   
she had had enough.  
  
Her eyes went dark with power, and Willow punched Mystique   
right in the face, dropping the blue mutant to the ground. "THAT IS ENOUGH! I   
have had one interruption to many!" With a gesture, Toad was pinned to the   
side of the mansion with an unseen force. Logan and Sabertooth both froze   
in the middle of trying to claw each other to bits, both feeling the power   
emanating from the redhead.  
  
" I do not have time for you to kill each other.   
You....Sabertooth. You are either going to help me destroy the replacement to the   
program that rebuilt you into a killer or stay out of my way. Logan allready   
said he would help me destroy the Initative, so you can't kill him."  
  
The sheer unexpectedness of it brought things to a halt. Scott   
and Toad were both looking at Willow as if she had lost her mind. Sabertooth   
and Logan were very carefully separating from their fight in such a way   
as to not appear to be quitting or backing down. They were both certain   
that Willow was dangerous right now, intensely emotional and   
unpredictable, with apparent power to back her will. Mystique and Jean were both   
unconscious on the ground, and the Professor was trying to figure out exactly what   
was going on in Willow's head.  
  
"Initiative?" Sabertooth was the one that had finally spoken.  
  
"Yes. You and Logan were both in a secret military program called the   
Weapon X project. You are now the only survivors from those experiments.   
However, after the Weapon X project was shut down, the files weren't   
completely destroyed. I don't know how, but someone got ahold of the files,   
and now there's the Initiative. They are mainly trying to develop mind   
control, with terible torturous experiments on the side. I hacked   
into their files. They have to be destroyed."  
  
The Professor was now very worried. He had already been   
concerned because of the horrible things the Initiative was doing. Now, he   
was concerned for Willow. She was undeniably intelligent, but   
emotionnally she was in terrible shape. He could sense that she had suffered some   
sort of painful betrayal, and felt all the expected shock, grief and outrage   
from that. He wasn't certain where the sense of despair had come from.   
He could tell that this focus on the Initiative was possibly the only thing   
holding her together in a semblance of sanity.  
  
Very cautiously, they all went inside to figure out what was   
going on, and so that Toad and Sabertooth could ask some of the questions they   
had about the Initiative. Scott carried Jean, mutteing something about   
Logan being trouble, and always trying to get his girl, while Sabertooth   
was carrying Mystique, stroking her hair gently.  
  
  
end part 7.  
  
  
  
  
They had proceded into the mansion, and now the Professor was watching   
the group of people in the war room. There was Logan, scowling at the room   
in general while Spike asked for details on the violence. Toad was   
in the corner, looking around suspiciously. Sabertooth sat in one of the   
chairs, still holding Mystique, who was now starting to come awake. Willow   
was pacing along the wall, muttering something under her breath about it   
not being the time or place for the violence. Her eyes were still a   
disconcerting black.  
  
"What hit me?" Mystique's odd voice, a bit quiet, drew   
attention back to the reason why they were here, in Xavier's mansion.  
  
"The redhead did. You okay?" Sabertooth answered her, his   
voice unexpectedly tinged with concern.  
  
"I want to know what this Initiative is, and why you want it   
taken down so badly." Toad was not happy about being here, and was still   
glaring at Willow.  
  
"The Initiative is a secret government research project that   
performs horrible experiments on demons and vampires while trying to develop   
behavioral control chips. They have a base in Sunnydale,   
California." Willow's voice was tense as she activated the controls to put images   
on the screen again. "They also have information from an older   
experimental program called Weapon X, which was used to alter both Sabertooth and   
Wolverine. After the Weapon X project was closed, they attempted to   
kill all survivors of their project. You two were the only ones they   
didn't successfully kill. It looks like they have based some of their work   
is directly building on research from the Weapon X program." Willow   
proceeded with the full explanation, something that she had lately been   
getting a lot of practice with.  
  
The questions from Sabertooth and Mystique were more serious   
than some of the ones from the X-Men. They didn't waste time trying to figure   
out why Spike was helping Willow. They didn't have to be convinced that the   
experiments were wrong. What was more of a concern for them was why   
she had approached Xavier and his people with this.  
  
Willow had explained that nobody in Sunnydale would help, nobody   
in Sunnydale cared what was being done to demons and vampires. She had   
found the information on Wolverine and Sabertooth and thought that either   
of them might have an interest in getting rid of the next generation of   
illegal experimentation, but the files had no information on their   
locations. Spike had then seen a news broadcast that had shown the X-Men, and had   
recognized Logan, which was why they had come to New York.  
  
Meanwhile, Spike had left the room while Willow explained all   
this, again. He already knew this. He wanted a nice beer to drink. He   
stopped outside the kitchen, listening to the voices inside.  
  
"She's dangerously unstable. I know the information seems to be   
genuine, but can we trust her? Is it possible that she could have   
faked the data?"  
  
"To much of the information on Logan matches what we've been   
able to discover. She obviously found valid information. However, we have   
no way to be positive that this operation is still current."  
  
"We can't take the risk of ignoring this. There could be real   
danger for all of us if this program actually exists."  
  
"I don't trust that Spike. His mind is dificult to read and   
full of violent impulses."  
  
Suddenly, a beer didn't sound as appealing. It didn't sound   
like the X-Men would be particularly helpful. Damn.  
  
end part 8  
  
  
  
  
Sabertooth, Toad and Mystique had left the mansion after Willow had  
explained what was going on. They were quite clearly concerned about the  
Initative, and wanted to discuss among themselves what they intended  
to do about it. Mystique gave Willow a slip of paper with a phone number  
on it, saying that if Willow ever wanted to work with people that would go  
for results, call her.  
  
Nobody at Xavier's trusted these three enough for them to be  
welcome on the school grounds. Spike and Willow had had a long quiet  
discussion about what to do, and Willow had managed to get a bit of time with the  
school's computers. She had managed to get some satellite imagry of  
Sunnydale, and was certainthat she had found the location of the Initiative's  
base. She had been exhausted, and had fallen asleep over the printouts on a  
table.  
  
Jean had agreed to perform the surgery on Spike to remove his  
implant, mainly as a means to keep him in one place. She had sedated him,  
and removed the implant from his head, setting it aside to examine  
later. It seemed to be a remarkable piece of technology. Spike was left  
unconscious in the medlab, expected to be asleep for close to eight hours.  
  
* * * *  
  
Jean hadn't figured on Spike's vampiric recouperation. She had  
dosed him as if he were a normal person, and based it on his body mass. He  
woke up barely an hour later. His head ached, a dull throbbing pain  
radiating tendrils of fire from the back of his skull. The medlab was empty.  
The entire lower portions of the school were also empty, and he rushed  
upstairs, a suspicion growing inside.  
  
The X-Men were gone. Willow was asleep at the table where she  
had been gathering information on the Initiative, using satellite images.  
They had left without Spike and Willow. Spike had a feeling that this  
wouldn't turn out well.  
  
end part 9.  
  
  
  
  
Spike growled in frustrated anger. The noise of it woke Willow   
up, and she looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. She only   
saw Spike, looking slightly wobbly, and wearing his vampire face.  
  
"Spike? What's wrong? Everything's all quiet." Willow still   
sounded a bit sleepy. She lookd at the mass of papers spread over the table,   
suddenly frowning. "Where's the thermal imaging of Sunnydale?"  
  
"Remember I said they didn't trust us? I think they left   
without us. The redhead did something to my head, said she'd take the chip   
out." Spike grimaced, his head throbing. "My head hurts a lot, she must have   
done something to me."  
  
Willow gestured for him to come closer, and stood up in front of him.   
She held her hands out, one on either side of his head, and chanted a few   
words. The pain faded.  
  
"Red, that's wonderful."  
  
Suddenly, he reached out and pinched her arm, right below the   
elbow. Willow winced, and Spike got this incredibly big, wicked smile on   
his face.   
  
"She really did it. I can hurt people again. Red, find a way that   
we can go after those Initative bastards without these X- people, I want   
them to bleed."  
  
Spike prowled the mansion, pondering the best, most painful ways   
to toruture and kill the soldiers, and Willow used the computers once   
more, this time getting detailed information of Magneto's prison. She had   
carefully routed herself, and had worked some sort of complex   
computer thing that she told Spike would prevent the people at the prison from   
finding who had accessed their data, assuming they even noticed. She downloaded   
blueprints, and wiring systems, a listing of the gaurds on duty, and   
their schedules.  
  
She had gathered a vast amount of new papers before she fell   
asleep again. There was only so far that willpower could substitute for   
sleep, and Willow had gone beyond that point. The computer had been   
disconnected from the prison, and from the Initiative, and was now simply doing some   
sort of internal maintenance when Spike looked in near dawn. He gathered   
the papers, and took them and Willow to the room she was supposed to be   
sleeping in.  
  
He also slept, knowing that Willow would have some sort of plan   
for the next effort.  
  
* * *  
  
Charles Xavier was worried. His X-Men had decided that Willow was an   
unknown, and there had been concern over how trustworthy she was. Spike was   
a dangerous and violent individual, and so it had been decided, after much   
debate, to go investigate the Initative, and if the proved dangerous, to   
impede or remove their operations, and to do so without either Spike   
or Willow.  
  
They should have been in touch with him again by now. He   
could only assume that something had gone terribly wrong.  
  
  
end part 10.  
  
  
  
The X-Men's jet returned shortly after dawn, and landed in the   
hanger. Charles Xavier did not hear Scott's voice over the radio as this   
happened. He was very concerned, and went to the hanger to figure out what   
was going on. He realized that his concerns about something going wrong were   
accurate. He sensed Logan's mind, filled with too much anger to read   
easily. Storm, disturbingly unconscious and tinged with pain. Jean's mind was   
there, similarly unconscious.  
  
The X-Men had underestimated the Initiative. They hadn't taken   
Willow's warnings seriously enough. Cyclops was captured, Jean and   
Storm to injured to be on any active missions. Logan was in decent enough   
shape, but his uniform was slashed, perforated by circular holes proclaiming   
that he had been shot with bullets, and almost covered in dried blood.   
Xavier had the sudden realization that if not for Logan's healing factor, none   
of his X-Men would have returned from this mission.  
  
"The girl was right. They were military, with rows of   
captives. Whole place smelled like pain, fear, and antiseptic. We didn't   
prepare well enough. They got Scott, it was all I could do to keep them from   
getting Jean and 'Ro. We have to go back. But, we have to be better   
prepared next time." Logan's voice was thick with exhaustion and smothered rage.  
  
"I think you should rest. We will plan what to do next when   
you've had enough rest to think clearly again. I will tend to our injured   
in the medlabs." Xavier's voice was concerned.  
  
That evening, when Spike and Willow wandered downstairs, the   
Professor's voice rang in their minds, asking them into his study.   
He was there, and Logan was as well. Neither of them looked calm, although   
Xavier looked unhappy and worried, Logan looked unhappy and angry.  
  
"My X-Men were underprepared for the Initative. Scott has been   
captured. Jean and Ororo are in the medlab, both seriously   
injured. I confess, we were uncertain as to the validity of your concerns, and   
so we didn't take your cautions seriously enough. I have asked you here   
to see if you have a suggestion as to our next action." Xavier's voice was   
quiet, clearly upset by what had happened.  
  
"We can't leave him there. Their records indicate that they   
are going to regard him as a hostile non-human if he displays any abilities   
outside the normal human range. The complication is that you don't have any   
other students ready for something like this." Willow was clearly thinking   
about this, voicing her thoughts for the Professor and Logan's benefit.  
  
Spike figured that Willow had thought about all this upon   
learning that the X-Men had left without them. "We bloody well told you they were   
dangerous. You should have listened to us on that point, even if   
you lot did decide that we were both crazy." Spike couldn't quite refrain   
from an I-Told-You-So.  
  
"You don't have the numbers or firepower to take them down   
yourselves anymore. The first step is to call Mystique, Sabertooth, and Toad,   
and have them help us with step two." WIllow's voice was confident. She had   
a plan, and now Xavier was finally willing to listen to her.  
  
"What is step two, if I may ask?" Xavier was thoughtful,   
wondering how sound her plan would be.  
  
"Step two is liberating Magneto from prison so that he can help   
us eliminate the Initative. I can't picture anyone that survived the   
Nazi concentration camps ever permitting something like this, let alone   
the mind control chips that they are working on."  
  
Xavier and Logan both gasped at the scope of her plan. It was   
on one level amazingly simple, obvious that Magneto wouldn't stand for   
this. On the other hand...  
  
"You can't just waltz up to a prison and pop the doors like you   
did at the mansion. It will be something much more complicated and   
difficult." Logan spoke, not arguing with her idea, only wanting to be certain   
that it was well planned in advance.  
  
" I know. That's why I used your computers to access the plans   
for the prison. I have all the information that we need." Willow had a   
faint smile on her face. Finally, things were moving in the right direction.   
As Spike went to get the stack of papers from her room, she found the slip of   
paper, and called Mystique.  
  
end part 11.  
  
  
  
They had agreed to listen to Willow's plan, and so Toad,   
Sabertooth, and Mystique returned to Xavier's mansion. There had been some glares   
exchanced between Logan and Sabertooth, but they had restrained theirselves   
from actual fighting.  
  
Willow had gotten their attention when she had began by saying "I   
want you to assist in the retrieval of Magneto from federal prison."   
Seeing that everyone was now focused on her, she smiled slightly. "I have the   
blueprints, and the listing and schedule of the gaurds. This won't   
be easy, but we can manage it as long as we keep our timing right, and don't   
stop for any extra violence. You did catch that part, right guys? No ad lib   
violence, or it will throw off the schedule." Willow glared   
slightly at Spike, as well as looking at Sabertooth when she said that.  
  
Then, Willow began to elaborate the plan. She and Xavier had   
considered all the security measures, and had also taken into   
consideration Mystique's shapeshifting. Mystique actually played a pivotal role   
in this plan, and after some questions, everyone was clear on the details.  
  
* * * *  
  
They hadn't had much dificulty. The plan had worked, and they   
had retrieved Magneto. He had lost weight while in prison, and he   
looked to have a few bruises on his body. The expression on his face had been   
surprise, and relief. He had also been extrememly puzzled to see   
Logan working with Sabertooth and a strange red haired young woman to free   
him. Willow had gone into the building and done something to the   
computers. She had only smiled, and said it was a minor surprise for later when   
Toad had asked her about it.  
  
They had all boarded the jet and Logan had them airborne before   
Willow would answer any questions, of which Magneto had a great many.  
  
" Let me explain, and umm I'm Willow Rosenberg. There is a   
secret miliary project called the Initiative. They are using demons and   
vampires to experiment and perfect a mind control chip. They also have   
Cyclops right now. I found out about them, and hacked into their system. They   
trace back to another illegal secret research program called Weapon X, which   
was responsible for Sabertooth and Wolverine. I asked the X-Men to help   
me get rid of them. They didn't take me seriously, and went without me or   
Spike." She gestured at a blond man sitting across from her.  
  
"They failed. The Initative captured Cyclops, and Logan was   
barely able to get Jean and Storm out with him. We need more than just myself,   
Spike and Logan to get rid of the initiative, so I asked Sabertooth, Toad   
and Mystiqe to help get you out of prison."  
  
Grining, Spike took up the next line. "We want you to help   
destroy the Initiative. Completely."  
  
Magneto was quiet for a moment. He remembered the horrible   
things that had happened to himself and so many others in the camps. He   
recalled his fears about experiments to find some way to act against mustants.   
The fears of so many people that mutants would destroy humanity, and now it   
sounded like humanity would do the job all on it's own. There was only one   
possible response.  
  
"Count me in."  
  
end part 12.  
  
  
  
After the plane had returned to the mansion, Mystique, Willow  
and Magneto went to the kitchen for a bit of food, while the rest of the  
people went to shower and in most cases, go to sleep. Willow explained  
about the Initiative in greater detail, wanting Magneto to undertand why they  
had to be dealt with. She figured she didn't need to use the war-room and  
its visual display screens, and he looked like he needed a good meal  
anyhow.  
  
They decided to have a session for planning in the morning, after  
everone had rested. Willow, Xavier and Magneto would plan a strategy for  
dealing with the Initiative. After he was shown to a room, Magneto asked  
Mystique to explain what had happened to result in him being retrieved from  
prison with Charles' jet.  
  
She explained that the X-Men had viewed Willow as mentally  
unbalanced, obsessed with the destruction of the Initiative. They hadn't taken  
her warnings seriously, and had gone to investigate the Initiative  
without either Willow or her companion Spike. Mystique didn't know any  
details, but things had gone very wrong for the X-Men. Jean and Storm were  
injured, recovering in the medical area. Cyclops had been captured.  
  
His sleep was full of troubled dreams. Dreams of horrors in  
the past, and of what might come to be. If this initiative succeded in  
creating mind control chips, what would become of mutants? Would they be hunted  
down by mind-controlled soldiers? Would they become mind controlled slaves  
to a world of intolerance and hate?  
  
  
Morning was a welcome end to his dreams. He found clean  
clothing provided, clothing that neither suggested prison wear or carried the  
logo of Xavier's school. It was a gesture he appreciated very much.  
Hopefully, there would be plentiful coffee for the planning session.  
  
There was hot coffee and also breakfast. He entered the  
room, folowing the scent of coffee and eggs, and saw that Willow was  
already there, a cup of coffee beside her, and busily using the computers  
for something. She looked up as he entered, and offered a half smile,  
and waved in the direction of the coffee.  
  
"Professor Xavier's not here yet, I think he went to check on  
Jean and Storm. Your people are fine. Toad's in the library, looking at  
some books on engineering. I really don't think I want to know what Sabertooth  
and Mystique are doing. They shared a room, and haven't come out yet.  
Spike isn't a day person, he's still asleep, probably dreaming about  
gutting soldiers or something. He's a bit violent at times. Have coffee,  
it's really good."  
  
Magneto was drinking his coffee and asking Willow about the  
layout of the Initiative when Xavier joined them. Willow was explaining that  
it was underground, located beneath the local college, and used the screens  
of the war-room to put up the blueprints of the Initiative base.  
  
"This complicates things. The location under a collage... it  
will make any actions against them much more difficult." Magneto was  
thoughtful, considering the difficulties they would have to work around.  
  
"Do not forget that we must be careful not to cause injury to  
the students of the college!" Xavier was concerned. How much danger  
would there be to the students of the college? He would have to make certain  
that whatever plan they settled on did not endanger the surrounding  
people.  
  
"I want this to be thorough. I don't want to lave any corner  
operational, and I want to make certain that the Initiative is  
closed down for good. As near as I can tell, there should be minimal risk to  
the structural integrity of the nearby buildings, after all it's  
California. People have to build to withstand earthquakes, which Sunnydale does  
get on a regular basis. However, that does mean that the underground  
facilities will be designed fairly resistant to impact or shaking. Honestly, I have  
no experience in destroying an underground faciity. Hopefully, one of  
you will be able to make up for my lack in that area."  
  
The planning continued for hours, details of structure being  
discussed, along with questions of how many soldiers, and what sort of  
electronic measures they would have. Xavier kept trying to inject a note of  
caution for the surrounding citizens.  
  
end part 13.  
  
  
They had eventually hammered out a plan. They would move at  
night, to minimize the risk of endangering the ordinary students and citizens  
of Sunnydale. Xavier would be staying in Westchester, as he lacked the  
physical mobility to be particularly useful during the actual  
assault. They had made their plans to make the best use of their abilities. Toad  
would be responsible for releasing as many of the prisoners as he could.  
Mystique and Willow would disable the computers, as well as making certain  
the Initiatives files were completely destroyed. Sabertooth, Spike,  
Logan and Magneto would deal with the main forces of the Initiative, which  
should also provide enough distraction for the others to accomplish their goals.  
  
Xavier still thought it would be far to bloody, and would result  
in to many people killed. He did admit that the Initiative had to be  
stopped, but wished there was another way. Unfortunately, he hadn't ben able to  
think of a less violent workable plan in the short time they had available.  
  
* * * *  
  
The flight went better than Magneto had hoped. Mystique was  
piloting the plane, which had caused Charles some dismay. Wolverine was sitting  
by Willow, and they appeared to be talking. Sabertooth was sitting  
near the blond, Spike. They seemed to be discussion the upcoming violence,  
and he heard Spike mention that the Initiative soldiers carried some sort  
of electrical stun gun. There were o conflicts between Wolverine and  
Sabertooth. The flight was almost peaceful.  
  
Logan was talking to Willow. He thought she was attractive,  
and intelligent. She also seemed to be a nice person, except for the  
Initiative. He wanted to get to know her a bit better, to know the  
actual person instead of the fact that she was an excellent computer  
hacker, and looked pretty, even first thing in the morning. maybe after this  
was over, he could ask her to go out for dinner somewhere. Assuming they all  
came back from this.  
  
* * * *  
  
They had arrived in Sunnydale, landing the plane near the place  
Spike remembered escaping the compound. Carefully, they emerged from the  
plane, alert for any sign of the Initiative soldiers. Seeing that the area  
was clear, they very carefully moved to the access way that Spike had  
used, and Willow, Mystique, and Toad began their descent into the complex.  
Referencing the printout that Willow had given them, the others  
moved to find the major access to the base, the one they had used to move in  
the large equipment. It was time for the Initiative to fall.  
  
They had found the main entrance, and Magneto used his power to  
rip the main doors, made of a steel alloy to withstand earthquake, fire or  
bullets from their hinges. The shriek of tormented metal got the attention  
of everyone inside, and a siren began to sound inside. He raised a  
field around him, one that should stop any bullets from actually coming  
into contact with him.  
  
"The Initative shall fall. We shall begin now."  
  
Soldiers began to come forth in response to the siren. Magneto  
could feel the metal in their weapons, and was something else.... other  
small bits of metal that he could sense. When he had a moment, he would have  
to locate them more precisely. He could see Sabertooth and Logan, each having  
taken a position at the edge of the doorway. SPike was standing a bit  
inside, a lit cigarette in his hand, and his face having changed. His eyes were  
now yellow, with sharp teeth and his features no longer looked quite  
human. He looked like he was looking forward to the violence ahead.  
  
Meanwhile, Toad had found a guard by the hall of cells, and  
rendered him unconscious with a boot to the head. He picked up the keycard,  
and moved down the hall, opening the cells one by one. Some of them  
were occupied by what looked like almost normal people, others contained  
beings that would never pass as human. The X-Man was huddled in one of the  
cells, curled in a corner, bruises and burns showing clearly in the harsh  
light. He hadn't been the only injured prisoner, many of the others had  
shown burns and cuts over them, and there had been bruises visible on some of  
them. Others, he couldn't tell if they had bruises under their scales or  
fur, but they had been sliced into as well. He was glad that he hadn't been  
a prisoner here.  
  
Willow and Mystique had found the main computer, and had only  
minor difficulties getting inside. Mystique had shifted into one of the  
men they first found, after first dropping him to the ground. They had no  
more problems after that, as Willow had picked up a lab-coat and  
clipboard, looking like a researcher at a casual glance, and Mystique now  
looked like one of them... The computer system was doomed.  
  
end part 14.  
  
  
  
  
They had managed to take down the Initiative. Toad had come   
forth, Cyclops unconsious and slung over his shoulder. The protective   
visor was gone, as was his shirt, and he had bandages over parts of his arms   
and chest. Bruises and a few small burns mottled his skin, making it   
clear that his stay had not been pleasant. He was pronounced annoyingly heavy,   
and almost but no quite dropped to the floor of the plane.  
  
Mystique was limping, and Willow was holding her arm oddly, a   
military green shirt wrapped around it from wrist to elbow. Sabertooth and   
Logan were showing no signs of serious injury, despite the numerous   
bullets that had struck both of them. Logan had displayed a capacity for   
violence that would have entirely appalled Xavier, having gone into a terrifying   
rage after being hit with the taser. Apparently, his metal skeleton had   
conducted the charge very well, and he had gone into a frenzy.   
Magneto was not actually injured in the attack, but he was exhausted.   
Maintaining the shield that prevented him from being shot had been demanding, and he   
had also sent careful pulses that had interfered with the electronic   
security.  
  
He had been a bit disturbed when Spike had been shot by one of   
the soldiers. Other than the initial bloodspray from the impact, his   
wounds had not really bled, and then there was the way he had torn the throat   
out of the first soldier he had grabbed. There had been very little blood   
that had spilled from the body of the soldier. He had always assumed that   
stories of vampires were untrue...but now, he had seen Spike in action.  
  
After their return, Xavier had been appalled at the extent of   
the violence they had used. His outrage had faltered when he got a good   
look at Scott, who was now wearing the pair of special sunglasses that logan   
had taken along on the plane. Scott had bruises, clearly of differing   
ages. There were burns, and under the bandages had been what appeared to   
be acid inflicted wounds as well as deliberate incisions. The sight of his   
student having clearly been beaten and tormented with these brutal   
experiments had stunned him into silence. Logan had helped carry Scott to the   
medlabs, so that his injuries could be properly tended to.  
  
They had gone to wash up, and put on clean clothing before   
discussing what had happened. He had the feeling that Xavier would not like   
the news of what had been going on any better than he had. Especially not   
the bit about how some of the soldiers had carried bits of metal implanted   
in their bodies. Perhaps they were closer to perfecting their behavioral   
control than they had assumed. He hoped that whatever Willow and Mystique   
had done to the computers had caused their records to be permanently   
destroyed.  
  
end part 15.  
  
  
  
To the relief of Charles Xavier, the injuries inflicted on Cyclops,   
painful as they were, would heal. He had suffered no permanently   
disabling injuries, and had not been implanted with any devices. It appeared   
that there had ben tissue samples taken, and that he had been injured in   
a variety of ways, as well as having some cracked ribs, and a crack   
along one of his armbones and a sprained wrist. It would take time to see   
what sort of mental trauma he had suffered from his captivity, and how well he   
would recover from that.  
  
They had eventually gathered in the war room. Everyone had   
taken the time to clean up, and have their injuries tended as needed. By the   
time everyone that had gone had meandered into the war room, there was a   
plentiful supply of hot coffee waiting for them. Willow's arm was   
now encased in a cast, a dull blue nylon covering her arm from wrist to   
shoulder. Toad had acquired a few minor bruises and scrapes,   
Mystique had a limp, but it was impossible to tell if she had any bruises. She was   
curled on Sabertooth's lap, looking tired after the exertion of the assault   
on the Initiative.  
  
They referenced the plans that Willow had downloaded, each   
explaining their part of the mission. Toad had gestured at the row of cells,   
describing the condition of the occupants as best he could. They   
had scattered after he opened the cells, and he had no idea where any of   
them besides Cyclops had gone, or what had become of them. Willow   
explained that she had deleted the records about their chips, leaving only the   
sections about the torturous experiments. She had made certain he chip   
studies couldn't be retrieved.  
  
The remaining files would give the people that would inevitably   
go to search the debris the impression that the horrible torturous   
experiments had been done for no further purpose than the infliction of pain on   
individuals with abnormal features and abilities. Considering the extreme   
emotional feelings that the mutant debate had caused, any rumors of an   
organization kidnapping and torturing people, especially under government funding   
would be such a public relation nightmare that the people responsible for   
authorizing it would be hoping to the promotion to janitors. She   
had also done something to leave the impression that the Initiative had been   
behind Magneto's disappearance from prison, intending to study him as well.  
  
The description that Spike was able to give of the surgical   
tables located in the central area had appalled the professor, as had   
Magneto's news that there had been small chips implanted in the chests of the   
soldiers. He had removed one so that it could be studied. A quick   
comparison had shown it to be very similar to the one that had been   
implanted in Spike.  
  
After several long hours discussion over the probable motives of   
the people behind the Initiative, they had concluded that they didn't   
know the plans of Dr. Maggie Walsh, but they could not have been good. They   
had also concluded that the Initiative complex was done for, through a   
combination of certain explosives hat had been planted by Mystique and Toad,   
Willow's rendering their computer system inoperable, and the fact that   
Magneto had used his power to warp and bend the steel structural supports,   
bringing down sections of the walls and ceilings. While parts of it were still   
standing when they left, the entire structure was dangerously unstable, and   
the remaining walls could collapse at any time.  
  
end part 16.  
  
  
  
After everyone had concluded that the Initiative was now a dark  
note in the pages of history, and they had no idea what the intentions of  
Dr. Maggie Walsh had been, the discussion had moved to one of philosophy. It  
was a direct, immediate philosophy, about the question of mutants and what  
sort of future they would face. There were considerations of political  
concern, legal matters about mutant rights and the use or misuse of mutant  
abilities. Logan, Sabertooth and Mystique slipped out as this progressed,  
clearly not feeling like joining the debate. Spike stayed, not so much  
interested in the words as he was in just watching Willow.  
  
She seemed alive again. Not that her actual physical health had  
been in question, but she was alive again. She was caring about things  
again, letting herself feel things beyond pain and heartbreak. He didn't  
think she was suicidal anymore. Spike also suspected that part of Willow's  
renewed interest in life had to do with Logan. He had seen them glancing at  
each other when they though nobody was looking. She found him  
interesting, and he seemed to want to know her better. He watched as her eyes  
sparkled when she argued about whether a mutant should be held responsible for  
arson if they used their powers to burn down a building. Yeah, Willow was  
alive inside again.  
  
He went to find Logan. Since the mutant was partly responsible  
for Willow feeling again, he wanted to have a few words with him. Logan  
was sitting in a chair, a cold bottle of beer in hand.  
  
"I've seen how you look at Willow." Spike spoke, getting the  
man's attention.  
  
Logan wasn't surprised, he had known Spike was there. But he  
hadn't expected the vampire to talk to him. They hadn't been particularly  
friendly. He looked at Spike, wondering where this was going,  
hoping that he wasn't about to get the 'stay away from my girl' speech.  
  
"You want to know her better. I just want you to treat her  
right. Red's had a lot of trouble in her life, and she deserves better than  
what she's got so far. If you're interested, just make sure you treat  
her right. She's the closest I've got to a friend. Hurt her and I'll hunt  
you down and make you bleed." With those parting words, Spike went to the  
room his things were in so that he could pack.  
  
He left a note for Willow, and packed his things. There was a  
whole world away from California or Brazil, and it was about time he go  
see some of it. Now that he was a fully capable vampire again, he could get  
back to really having a life, so to speak.  
  
end part 17.  
  
  
  
After some time discussion the possible futures of mutants,  
Magneto and Xavier concluded that they had said enough on the matter for now.  
Willow had been right in the discussion, and while she had not had the same  
number of years watching events unfold as the other two, she had  
considerable practice observing people, and in planning to deal with unusual  
activities. While Xavier believed that given enough proof that mutants were  
still people, they would be accepted, Willow was convinced that one team  
of superheroes, or several teams for that matter wouldn't convince  
people to accept mutants.  
  
Willow argued that people wouldn't accept mutants as their  
equals based solely on the actions of a few, highly visible powerful mutants  
fighting. First, they would have to be reassured that mutants were held  
responsible for their actions, and then a gradual process of acceptance could  
begin. She assumed that it would be a long, difficult process, but was  
hopeful that there could eventually be co-existence. Her view had been argued,  
and debated, but eventually, they had conceded that she was as entitled  
to her view of the future as they were.  
  
Magneto had gathered Sabertooth and Mystique, as well as prying  
Toad out of the library, and they had left. They had offered Willow a nearly  
polite farewell, and Toad had promised to look her up if they needed to  
break anyone else out of prison. They had left to go somewhere else, and  
Willow didn't ask about their future plans.  
  
Willow wondered how much of a future she had. Before they had  
come here, the deal had been that Spike would kill her, quickly and with  
minimal pain after his chip was out. The plan had held some appeal then, when  
she was still devastated over Oz and his cheating and departure. Now, she  
thought there might be some reasons to live, like a certain interesting  
Canadian. She went upstairs, and found a note by her computer.  
  
Red - I know that we had a deal. Thing is, I got to know you,  
and you aren't half bad, for a mortal chit. Go out and live a while. Be  
happy, maybe have a nice shag with Logan bloke you keep staring at. I'll  
have a new life ahead of me, only fair that you have one to. Take care of  
yourself. Spike  
  
Smiling, Willow went to find Logan and see if he still wanted to  
go somewhere for dinner. A new life.... maybe a new love. She was  
willing to try that.  
  
end part 18. end Project Initiative. 


End file.
